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New Economy Roundup: Green New Deal, Paris Protests and Worker Cooperative State of the Sector!

12/13/2018 - 8:53am

This week, we’re talking about wealth redistribution and climate justice as the Paris yellow vest movement continues to grow, the state of the worker cooperative sector in America and the potential of the Green New Deal to build power for system change!

Unhinged GDP Growth Could Actually Destroy The Economy, Economists Find: The consensus among climate scientists is now being bolstered by a growing consensus among economists that traditional economic growth requires more fossil fuels -- something we can’t afford anymore. For the details, read read Kate Aronoff’s piece in the Intercept.​

Food Justice Is About Everything We Do: NEC member organization and critical media source, The Laura Flanders Show, is celebrating its 10th Anniversary of producing programs that beam light on the people, places, and movements who are making radical change and shifting power. Watch their latest episode on food justice featuring Leah Pennington of Soul Fire Farm.

​“The Climate Crisis is a War Against the Poor”: The “Yellow Vest” movement in Paris is sending a clear message that climate “solutions” that disproportionately affect the working class and poor are not solutions at all. As Kate Aronoff puts it in her piece for Jacobin, “blame the fossil-fuel industry and the rich for the ecological crisis, not ordinary people.” Curious about the movement’s demands? Read this unofficial list here.​

The Launch of “Progressive International”:In the face of greed, negligence, discrimination, denial and dishonesty, the time has come for progressives to form a grassroots movement for global justice: to mobilize workers, women and the disenfranchised all around the world behind a shared vision of democracy, prosperity, sustainability, and solidarity. That’s the aim of Progressive International, which was announced last week at the Sanders Institute Gathering in Vermont. Watch their launch video here.​

Swedish Secondhand Shopping Center: The new ReTuna store is, “part of a global resurgence in physical spaces designed to encourage consumers to stop feeling the need to buy everything new and to donate items that they no longer need ― supporting what’s known as the circular economy.” The mall is also being used as a source of employment for immigrants. Read more about ReTuna in the Huffington Post​

Worker Cooperative State of the Sector​

​Covering five years of business progress, the 2017 Worker Cooperative State of the Sector is a report on worker-owned business in the United States. This report is a co-production of NEC member organizations, Democracy at Work Institute and U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives, drawing upon the latest developments in the field, and deepens our understanding of the sector. This latest set of data illustrates modest but steady growth, and includes an updated map of metro areas with a concentration of worker cooperatives, along with a breakdown of business number totals in the top 15 states. Read the report here.​​

The Green New Deal

One of the biggest stories in US politics right now is being driven by a freshman Congresswoman and a movement of young people pushing for a Green New Deal to establish a Select Committee that would develop a plan to transform our economy and stop climate change. We’ve long known that you can’t solve climate change without system change. The Green New Deal represents a major opening to make that idea concrete, with a set of bold proposals that are already shifting the conversation about what it’s going to take to address the crisis.

NEC members and allies have a lot to say about this emerging proposal:

​Follow NEC on Instagram - @NewEconomyCoalition - where we’re sharing the passions and stories of our amazing staff members and the work they do through NEC and elsewhere to challenge the social structures that harm us all. We’ve almost hit our goal to raise $100,000 by 2019 as part of our grassroots fundraising campaign, Making Waves. Make a gift!​

Upcoming Events

Remaking the EconomyThe second webinar in NPQ’s series, Remaking the Economy, will explore a growing range of strategies to counteract and reverse the trend towards further concentration of land ownership. . The 90-minute webinar will connect you with experts to discuss the strengths and challenges inherent in pursuing various practical community-based democratic land ownership and stewardship strategies. (December 13 - Webinar)

The People vs. Wall Street: SF Public Bank Coalition Launch​ The San Francisco Public Bank Coalition is launching January 10th. Learn how a city-owned public bank can bring San Francisco's $11 billion budget "From Wall Street to Our Streets!" Eat good food and dance with good people from a wide range of justice movements across San Francisco! Strategize with working groups on student debt, affordable housing, green energy, or something else! (January 10 - San Francisco, CA)

Apply for the Cooperative Leadership IntensiveJoin members of NYC co-ops and solidarity economy enterprises for a 5-day deep dive into how we work—individually, collectively, and in community. With curriculum developed in partnership with the Philadelphia Area Cooperative Alliance and delivered by skilled and seasoned facilitators. (Applications Due January 1st - New York, NY)

Reading Marx’s Capital Volume 1 with David HarveyA close reading of the text of Volume I of Marx’s Capital with Professor David Harvey. This semester-long in-person class meets on Tuesdays from 6:00pm – 8:00pm beginning on February 5th and ending on May 7th. Registration is free, but required. If you are not able to be in New York City to attend the class in person, please do not register. Live streaming details will be made available closer to the start date. (February 5 to May 7 - New York, NY)

Buy Social Canada SummitThe BSC Summit is the premier event exploring the rapidly emerging and expanding field of social procurement. The Summit brings together purchasers from all levels of government, corporations, and anchor institutions with social enterprise suppliers to share their experiences and efforts in designing policy, implementing practice and creating measurement models. (February 5-6 - Gatineau, BC)View all NEC member events on our website »

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